


Off to the Races

by pickleplum



Series: Texts from the Shatterdome [1]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Pre-Canon, adorable science uncles, little Mako is just too cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-13
Updated: 2013-09-13
Packaged: 2017-12-26 11:13:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/965276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pickleplum/pseuds/pickleplum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Mako!” Newt shouts, instantly brighter at the sight of the little girl. There’s nothing quite like the appearance of an adorable eight-year-old to end an argument.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Off to the Races

“So, do they mail the horrible human being award? Or do you have to pick it up? What’s the protocol for that?”

“I was merely stating a fact,” Hermann huffs. “Unlike _some people_ who insist on letting emotions cloud their reasoning.”

“Oh for…,” Newt splutters, throwing his hands in the air. “ _Hermann!_ ” He slams his hands down on his worktable, sending up a mist of something blue and hopefully non-toxic. “We’re talking about _living things_ , not numbers on some spreadsheet!”

Hermann’s mouth is open for a scathing remark when, suddenly, his expression softens. 

“Hello, Miss Mori,” he says.

“Mako!” Newt shouts, instantly brighter at the sight of the little girl. There’s nothing quite like the appearance of an adorable eight-year-old to end an argument.

“Gottlieb- _hakase_. Newt- _hakase_.” She punctuates each greeting with a small smile and a perfect bow. Hermann returns the bow gracefully, but Newt is … well, _Newt_.

He bows too deeply and energetically and smacks his forehead on the edge of the table. He grabs at his hairline and unleashes a strangled torrent of curses in German. Hermann is too busy trying not to laugh to chastise him. Mako giggles behind her hands and then laughs openly when Newt finally rights himself. There are large smears of blue goop on his face and kaiju bits in his hair.

“What’s so funny?” he demands. He looks confused for a moment, then catches a glimpse of himself in a miraculously clean spot on the stainless steel surface of the table. He lowers his eyebrows and fights a smile as he locks eyes with Mako. 

“Sure, it’s _hilarious_ when Newt is covered in slime,” he grumbles, rolling his eyes for emphasis as he edges out from behind the table. “But what’ll you think when it’s _all over you_!” He lunges at Mako, grabbing at her with his blue-stained hands, missing by at least a country mile. She squeals, spins, and darts out the doorway.

“You’ll have to catch me, Newt- _senpai_!” she shouts over her shoulder.

“Less talking! More running!” He yells as he takes off in pursuit of her small form. Their footsteps and laughter quickly fade down the corridor. Hermann shakes his head and sighs as he shuffles over to one of the filing cabinets near the middle of the lab.

A cup of tea later, Newt returns rather out of breath and looking immensely pleased with himself.

“Enjoy our little run, did we?” Hermann offers over the rim of his second cup.

“Dude, I’m in no sort of shape for that,” Newt pants. He collapses into his office chair. “And don’t get me started on my head. Seriously. _Ow._ But it was _sooooo_ totally worth it. Did you see her face?” He smiles at the memory.

Hermann smiles, too. “Yes, that was pleasant. I rather enjoyed the show.” His expression creeps into a smirk. “I found the part where you nearly concussed yourself especially entertaining.”

“Of course you did, you cold-blooded monster.” Newt tries to work himself up to the appropriate level of offended outrage, but his throbbing head is getting in the way.

Hermann drops his gaze back to the report he was reading. “There’s ibuprofen, water, and a soapy washcloth on your desk.”

“Oh. Um. Thanks.” Newt squints across the room after swallowing the pills. “I’m always afraid something’s wrong with you when you’re nice to me.”

“Think of this as my contribution to making Miss Mori happy.”

Newt pauses from scrubbing his face and looks across the lab at Hermann. For a moment, Newt thinks the other man looks thoughtful, maybe even a little sad.

“Of course, encouraging that sort of behavior does save me the trouble of having to injure you myself.” The mocking gleam is back in Hermann’s eyes.

“Thank god!” Newt raises his hands over his head in a gesture somewhere between triumph, frustration, and thanksgiving. “You’re back to normal. For a second there I thought you’d grown a heart.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you like the basic idea of this, please feel free to take it and expand, remix, whatever it.
> 
> My Japanese is limited to a few greetings, “yes”, and the names of a few types of fish, so I had to rely on Wikipedia for the proper honorific for Mako to use. The article said - _hakase_ basically means “professor” and is a little more formal than the much more common - _san_ , so I went with that. Little Mako strikes me as someone who would have been very carefully formal thanks to growing up with Pentecost. I have her switch to - _senpai_ (which is more like what you would call someone a couple of years ahead of you in school) later to imply extreme comfort and familiarity with Newt and that she understands this is all in fun. If this isn’t appropriate, please let me know and I’ll correct it.
> 
> Inspired by [this post from Texts From the Shatterdome](http://textsfromtheshatterdome.tumblr.com/post/58460685004/the-horrible-human-being-awards-ceremony-is-being). While the original association is pretty hilarious (as is the rest of that Tumblr. Seriously. Check it out.), to me it sounded more like something that would be shouted during a Kaiju Bros Argument™. So I started there. Then little Mako walked in and this happened. I blame [this adorable comic](http://moeblob.tumblr.com/post/58617237039/okay-so-you-all-know-that-whole-headcanon-deal) for her appearance.
> 
> Recommended listening: [The Go! Team, _Proof of Youth_ , Track 2, “Doing It Right”](http://youtu.be/p_LoSqyNmeo.%20%0A).


End file.
